I picked Ethan up yesterday morning and was surprised to see him jumping up to greet me. This is a dog that couldn't even get up and down the stairs last week! It is so great having him back home, though I guess he got used to not having a puppy around and has been getting a little grumpy when Towser wants to play. Thats understandable, though. Other than that he has been eating his dog food a lot better (along with some meat and eggs to help with his weight and low protein). His eyes aren't red anymore and you can tell he is simply feeling a lot better. He has a slight limp, but I'm hoping that goes away when the swelling in his legs completely dissipates.

Well, I'm unfortunately bearing not-so-good news. Ethan was doing very well for a few days, but has started declining again. His temp is back up to 103.5 and he lost all the weight he had recently gained back. We couldn't get him to eat hardly anything. This started when he finished up the Previcox he had been prescribed. So, another consultation with the vet and we came home with 10 more days worth of Previcox, so maybe that will help him get back on his feet. Fingers crossed.

My poor boy.
He did eat 2 1/2 pieces of chicken and a hot dog tonight. So thats a plus. I'm still worried, though. I hate that he has an potentially fatal illness that doesn't have an actual treatment. Right now its just a waiting game to see if this works... nothing much more we can do at the moment.

"That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas

You Feel Better

You feel better Ethan so you can go home to your owner,our last dog Fritz had kidney failure and diabetes,it was too far gone to do anything and had to put him down m down which was hard to do.Hope it doesn't get to that stage with Ethan and you can enjoy for a long time.

Thanks again, guys. Since being back on the Previcox he has regained most of his appetite, and with that he got a lot of his strength back. Right now I'm just trying to keep him calm so he can rest and relax and hopefully we won't have any more steps backward. He still has a long ways to go, but I think he can come back from this.

Originally Posted by fritz03

You feel better Ethan so you can go home to your owner,our last dog Fritz had kidney failure and diabetes,it was too far gone to do anything and had to put him down m down which was hard to do.Hope it doesn't get to that stage with Ethan and you can enjoy for a long time.

I remember Fritz well, and I know that must have been hard to say goodbye. Thankfully Ethan's full checkup a couple of weeks ago (bloodwork/xrays/etc.) showed that his kidney, heart, and all the other essentials are very healthy. We just need to get over the illness he has right now and he should make a near full recovery.

"That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas

Ethan was doing great, until -- yet again-- he finished off the previcox. He still has enough of an appetite to eat a can or two of wet food, but he is in so much pain. Even getting up off his dog bed makes him yelp, and if he lays a certain way he just whines and whines. He can hardly walk and I am afraid to pick him up or even help reposition him because I know it hurts him. Our vet seems to be at a loss on what to do from here. He'll have more Previcox for us tomorrow, and until then he told us to use aspirin for the pain (which doesn't seem to do much, if anything, for Ethan). Thankfully the previcox will kick in quickly once administered, but until then....

Right now it is killing me to see my little guy like this. I can't sleep knowing he is in pain, every time I hear him whimper or I watch him try to walk I start crying. I am trying so hard to keep him as comfortable as possible, and since he is so sensitive to my emotions, I've been trying not to let him see how upset I am.... but I feel like I am crying constantly. I just don't know what to do. I feel so helpless.

Ethan was doing great, until -- yet again-- he finished off the previcox. He still has enough of an appetite to eat a can or two of wet food, but he is in so much pain. Even getting up off his dog bed makes him yelp, and if he lays a certain way he just whines and whines. He can hardly walk and I am afraid to pick him up or even help reposition him because I know it hurts him. Our vet seems to be at a loss on what to do from here. He'll have more Previcox for us tomorrow, and until then he told us to use aspirin for the pain (which doesn't seem to do much, if anything, for Ethan). Thankfully the previcox will kick in quickly once administered, but until then....

Right now it is killing me to see my little guy like this. I can't sleep knowing he is in pain, every time I hear him whimper or I watch him try to walk I start crying. I am trying so hard to keep him as comfortable as possible, and since he is so sensitive to my emotions, I've been trying not to let him see how upset I am.... but I feel like I am crying constantly. I just don't know what to do. I feel so helpless.

Aww, sending you hugs. Is there anything you want me to ask the veterinarians on my radio show for you and Ethan? Love you, give him a kiss from us!

"That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas

Ethan was doing great, until -- yet again-- he finished off the previcox. He still has enough of an appetite to eat a can or two of wet food, but he is in so much pain. Even getting up off his dog bed makes him yelp, and if he lays a certain way he just whines and whines. He can hardly walk and I am afraid to pick him up or even help reposition him because I know it hurts him. Our vet seems to be at a loss on what to do from here. He'll have more Previcox for us tomorrow, and until then he told us to use aspirin for the pain (which doesn't seem to do much, if anything, for Ethan). Thankfully the previcox will kick in quickly once administered, but until then....

Right now it is killing me to see my little guy like this. I can't sleep knowing he is in pain, every time I hear him whimper or I watch him try to walk I start crying. I am trying so hard to keep him as comfortable as possible, and since he is so sensitive to my emotions, I've been trying not to let him see how upset I am.... but I feel like I am crying constantly. I just don't know what to do. I feel so helpless.

There are other pain relievers that he could take. Surely the Doc could try another or give him shots to speed relief. I'm suprised that your Vet doesn't have
other ideas to help Ethan. Have you guys thought about geting a 2nd opinion?

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